YOKOHAMA, Japan (Interstat) — Yomiuri catcher Takumi Ohshiro delivered a go-ahead double in a two-run seventh inning Saturday night, and the Giants held off the Yokohama BayStars 5-4 at Yokohama Stadium to split the first two games of a three-game series.

The Giants, who lost the series opener in a lopsided 11-6 contest Friday, improved to 41-36-2. The BayStars dropped to 33-44-3. A crowd of 33,198 watched the 3-hour, 46-minute game.

Yomiuri jumped ahead in the first inning. Shunsuke Urata walked, stole second and Go Matsumoto walked. Trey Cabbage then walked to load the bases. Bobby Dalbec lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Urata. Ohshiro doubled down the left line to bring home Matsumoto for a 2-0 lead.

Yokohama answered immediately in the bottom half. Atsushi Katsumata and Shugo Maki walked before Jerar Encarnacion crushed a three-run homer to left off Yomiuri starter Kazuyuki Takemaru, giving the BayStars a 3-2 lead.

The Giants tied the game in the third. Cabbage led off with a double to center. After Dalbec flied out, Ohshiro walked. Richard Sunagawa grounded into a fielder’s choice, putting runners at first and third with two outs. Misaki Sasahara singled to shallow left, scoring Cabbage to make it 3-3.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the sixth, when the BayStars regained the lead. Keita Sano singled with two outs, and Shion Matsuo walked. Tatsuo Ebina singled to shallow left, scoring Sano, and the BayStars led 4-3.

Yomiuri mounted its decisive rally in the top of the seventh. Dalbec walked to lead off. Ohshiro doubled to left-center, putting runners at second and third. Pinch-hitter Yuta Izuguchi singled to shallow center, scoring Dalbec and tying the game. Sasahara struck out, but Makoto Kadowaki dropped a sacrifice bunt toward first that allowed Ohshiro to score from third, giving the Giants a 5-4 lead.

The BayStars threatened in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Atsushi Katsumata singled and Shugo Maki singled to put runners at first and second. Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh struck out swinging to end the game.

Takemaru earned the victory, improving to 6-6. He allowed five hits and four earned runs over six innings, striking out five and walking four. Raidel Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing two hits while striking out two, to record his 26th save of the season.

Koh Nakagawa took the loss, dropping to 4-4. He worked five innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs with five walks and four strikeouts.

Ohshiro finished 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI. Encarnacion went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer.

Yomiuri relievers allowed no runs over the final three innings. Eito Tanaka and Kota Nakagawa each pitched a scoreless inning, with Nakagawa striking out one. For Yokohama, Hansel Marcelino, Teruki Yoshino, Masumi Hamachi and Masaki Iwata combined for four innings of scoreless relief. Hamachi struck out two, and Marcelino struck out one.

The game featured a total of 15 hits, eight by the Giants and seven by the BayStars. Neither team committed an error.

Yomiuri, which had dropped two of its previous three games coming into the series, recorded its first win in Yokohama since June 28. Yokohama had won three of its last four games before the loss.

The Giants will face the BayStars again Sunday in the series finale. Yomiuri then travels to Tokyo to face the Yakult Swallows for a three-game series beginning Tuesday. Yokohama will host the Hiroshima Toyo Carp on Tuesday after the series concludes.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Yomiuri Giants 5, Yokohama BayStars 4, which matched the actual result. Interstat’s ELO system had given Yokohama a 52.20 percent probability to win. Yokohama was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus 1.5. The total of three runs went over the over/under line of 6.5.